-work @ BCIT, 2 hours turned into 6
-worked in the Disabilities Resource Center; basically office "monkey work" (reception, filing, some marking, computer stuff), test assistance/reading
-so they called me last night n told me to come in for 2 hours, ended up keeping me for 6 so that's cool, and halfway through the day they ask if i can come in for 4 hours for the next 2 days (wednesday/thursday), and i have friday booked in the TLM already. cool...
-went for a run after, tired myself out, then dinner, then Smallville, then 90% finished this song i started writing on Sunday
-found out my buddy's working in a CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!! he used to be a pastry chef, working under a world-renowned guy named Thomas Haas @ the Metropolitan Hotel in DT Vancouver, but the dude left the hotel n opened a chocolate factory n my buddy went along with him. sweet! next time i see him, i'm calling him Willy Wonka...
Wednesday, April 13 2005
-dumbass HR lady accidentally called in another worker to do the exam today, so both of us were there this morning @ 0800 with only one student taking an exam. but no matter...
-the other guy got to do the exam (which is good b/c it was super boring...) n i got to do a whole bunch of other office-monkey business (filing, shredding, couriering, etc...), & instead of the original 0800-1200, i got to work till 1430
-and on top of it all, they want me back for the full day 2mrrw: 0830-1630. huh...funny how things sometimes work out...
-bumped into mr. yeo on my way off campus tonight too, haven't seen that dude in a few years; he's takin' the Btech financial mgt program, was supposed to finish next term, but he's takin 2 months off to go to Europe instead. good choice...
-mmm...good dinner tonight. parents must've been in a "cooking mood"...
...a plentiful dinner for 3.
Thursday, April 14 2005
uuyyy...O_o haven't been sleeping well, not b/c i can't fall asleep, but this stupid lil black seefutjai keeps waking me up...
-read exams all day: 0830-1030 in the welding shop to this dude Wyatt
-bumped into an old co-worker from Future Shop, almost didn't recognize him but he recognized me
-seems he's been pretty productive: heading up the local BCIT chapter of "LOT" (Leaders of Tomorrow), some sort of organization that helps IT/Computer geeks network n hook up w/ contacts in the industry
-he's also been into cooking, helped train ppl @ the restaurant adjacent to the downtown VPL: the Fox & Fiddle, lived & worked in NY for a while too, cool...
-99% finished this song i started writing on Sunday night. i only say 99% b/c i haven't done a rough recording, so i still forget how the melody goes every once in a while so each time i run through it the tune varies slightly here n there...but close enough!
the Floater - Friday, April 15 2005
-last day of the week @ BCIT: filled in the "floater" position that rotates between the 3 different computerized Test Centres on campus
-basically take over each of the centres when people go on break; so 20 minutes here, then walk to the next one, another 30-40 minutes, then the 3rd, then start over again taking over for lunch hours...
-pretty mundane/boring job, wouldn't wanna do this long-term
-off @ 1500, work out for a bit, pick up pops from work @ 1720, grab some early dinner @ 1800
-stayed home most of the night, headed out to buck's around 2200, then ended off @ Earls for a snack n some beers w/ mr. lam n mr. siu, n finally back home to crash @ 0230.
let the weekend begin...
DAY XVII: Holm Glad Secondary - Monday, February 21 2005
0915: wake, MTR to Kwun Tong to meet up w/ mom’s old friends/colleagues
1030: meet up w/ uncle Patrick (Lai), principal of Holm Glad Secondary
- shows me around the school, talk for a bit about whatever; future opportunities, government, NET program, the time long ago when he visited us in Vancouver (I had no recollection whatsoever O_o)
- walked around/observed some classes, met the staff, etc…
- principals must make pretty good coin, the dude drops me off @ the MTR station afterwards when it’s time for me to go…in his S-Class!
1245: meet up w/ Junk @ Kwun Tong station
- takes me to some secluded shopping district in the area where we’re in: Eastern Kowloon side of HK: this place sold lots of athletic/sports gear. Basically looks like a run-down old warehouse/office building from the outside, but once inside you see it’s like an outlet-style place (kinda like a Winners?)
- 10 floors; we start at the top n work our way down. Damn…shoes, shorts, tech tops, track jackets/pants, sweats, u name it, they had it… too bad a lot of the stuff they were selling I didn’t have need for/already had so it would’ve been wasteful to buy anyway even though it was pretty cheap…but I still got 1 or 2 things for dirt cheap
1415: lunch, hop over to Fa Yuen st., more shopping
- met up w/ Angel, the 3 of us have some Nam food for dinner
- Colin’s right when he tells me they don’t do Viet food that well here, it’s been “hongerized”, Pho just doesn’t cut it out here…but I guess it’s what the honkies like?
- on my own after dinner, finally got some leisure/down time to myself and no need to rush so I took the 2A bus (scenic route instead of the MTR) East on HK Island back to Sai Wan Ho to go back to UT’s place (my “home base”) where I unloaded some stuff, grabbed some boxers/socks etc…then hit the road again.
- Nice warm night, so I decided to walk back Westwards to the apartment (in North Point), passed through a mall, bought a shirt, had some HK McD’s again (gooood McChicken!), explored a bit of the neighbourhood in North Point, snacked…
2300: back home, crash
End of Day XVII
(Full Album)
DAY XVIII: Crunch Time (Exploring in Kowloon & Causeway Bay) - Tuesday, February 22 2005
1230: wake up late, got the day to myself
*To Do’s: visit Dad’s older brother, see a few more friends, visit mom’s younger brother
- after a bit of planning/scheduling, head out for brunch @ Espresso Café across the street: veggie soup, turkey sandwich. Not bad…
- MTR to Prince Edward Station (North side of Kowloon mainland side, across the ocean), Prince Edward’s at the northernmost end of Nathan Road (a main road leading down south to Tsim Sha Tsui)
- Mom calls while I’m walking, asks me what I’m up to, suggests I try n buy a suit. I’m sposed to buy a suit here? Apparently they’re pretty cheap, I saw some selling for real cheap in China (same price as an expensive t-shirt in Canada), but didn’t think them worth getting. But today, after some further thought, I decided heck why not; if I’m gonna need one for work n stuff some day (not a nice one, just a suit to trash/work with), why pay more than I have to?
- So I come across some shop, find a decent looking one, get the pants measured, haggle for a bit, bring the price down from 600HKD to 400HKD (about 67CDN), done.
- Meet up w/ Andrew @ TST station, check out the Tom Lee Music store there, saw some HK TV star testing out tenor saxes inside…
- Got a recommendation to try some place out for lunch from Junky over the phone, said they have this signature: tomato, beef & egg instant noodle stuff for pretty cheap
- Hard to find though, he gave us directions over the phone, n basically we got to this tiny door in the back of some narrow plaza filled w/ random stores, and narrow stairs leading downwards. Me n Andrew r thinking we took a wrong turn, n when we look at the run-down sign over the door (in Chinese), he tells me it says the door & the stairs lead down to some nightclub. So I call the Junk back n tell him where we are, saying we think we’re lost, n then he says no, we’re headed in the right direction.
- So I look at Andrew n he’s like O_o…but whatever, I’m hungry. So down we go, more corridors, n then finally down the hall, around the corner, we made it! Mmm…it was pretty good.
- Walk around TST some more, then take the ferry back across the ocean (it’s cheaper than the MTR) to Wan Chai, then head back home
1845-2000: nap…or at least I was planning on napping for that long, until Uncle Jeremy (mom’s little brother) woke me up n said to meet him @1945 in Causeway Bay for some steak dinner. Mmm…
1945: meet UJ for some beef
- after dinner, chilled w/ UJ for a bit, then headed off on my own, walked from Causeway Bay back to Fortress Hill
- plan for tomorrow: swim @ Kowloon Park, Jam @ Kit’s, meet 4 dinner w/ Dad’s brother @ 1900, confirm flight home!
0045: crash
End of Day XVIII
(Full Album)
DAY XIX: More Relatives - Wednesday, February 23 2005
1130: confirm flight, go for breakfast @ another café across the street; Bon Appetit
- MTR to TST, see some other movie star (don’t know his name, but he’s always some bad guy in those triad movies)
- Swim @ Kowloon Park w/ Junky, walk, meet up w/ Angel, have lunch @ some Taiwanese place
- Walk Harbour Centre, ferry back across the ocean
1730-1830: home for a nap
1845: MTR to Tseung Kwan O (Eastern Kowloon side) to meet Dad’s older bro n his family, check out their place for a bit, meet my cousins for the first time, then out to dinner @ Chiu Chow House. Pretty nice place, good food…
2230: back home. Still awake, went out for a walk, explored the parking lots behind the buildings, walked along the edges by the water. Parking lots in HK aren’t quite as boring as Canadian ones are, although they don’t sound like much, but there’s usually something to see. The whole stretch of pavement is right up against the harbour, so in effect, it’s kinda like walking along the Seawall @ Stanley Park in DT Vancouver, except w/o the trees =P
- walked over to this other area w/ stairs that lead up a mountainside/hill, have a look around, take in the scenery…
- 5 days left: Thursday – am w/ UT, pm w/ Clarence, Friday – JUSCO(?), meet up w/ Colin, Saturday: Uncle Patrick’s family, grandma’s sister, Sunday – Church, UW ppl, Monday – Pack
- while sitting up on the mountain, some lyrics came into my head:
mere existence, is not why I’m here…
pain of death, is not what I fear…
so what’s left, I’m holding my breath…
it’s you, you’re the reason I’m here,
only you, are worthy of fear,
and what’s more, you’ve opened the door…
to a life beyond all expectation,
a new hope that is found in redemption,
so I wait for you, to reveal my new direction…
- dunno what it is, but I love these places of solitude/meditation, they’re good for this sorta stuff I guess. Didn’t really have a tune/melody to set these words to (yet), but maybe something’ll come of em…
0012: crash
End of Day XIX
(Full Album)